“I’m outa here. Before I forget....” She fished in her oversized purse, pulled out several envelopes and handed them to Abby. “This was yesterday’s mail from T1. It came after you left and I’ve been meaning all day to give it to you.”
“Thanks.” Abby accepted the envelopes and waved them at Eleanor. “Now go home! Before I think of something else for you to do.”
“Aye Cap’n!” Eleanor saluted and disappeared into the parking lot beyond the back door.
Abby felt Jake’s hands on her hips as she sifted through the mail. “You smell good. New perfume?”
“Mm. It’s called Enchanted.”
“I like it.”
“Good. It’s super expensive. You can buy me a....”
“A gallon of it?” Jake nuzzled her neck. “If that’s what you want.” He inhaled another deep breath of her, then realized she’d gone cold and stiff in his arms. “What’s wrong?”
She held up a plain envelope of thick, creamy paper. Her hand shook and the rest of the mail fluttered to the floor.
It had been six months since the arena, since Jake took over for Gregori and with Gideon dead everything seemed to fit into place. No one had bothered Abby in that time. Her life continued as she’d planned, better than she could have planned, in fact. Despite Jake’s constant assurances that she had nothing to fear, she worried now and then that her newfound happiness would one day crumble to dust.
Jake took the envelope from her and squeezed her shoulder. “Relax. It could be anything.”
She shook her head and the fear in her eyes crushed his heart. What if the Client was still out there, ready to punish her for failing in her final assignment?
Jake opened the envelope and pulled out the single crisp sheet from within. He unfolded it and showed Abby the words typed in clean black letters at the center of the page.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP.
GREGORI
The End
Bonfire of the Vampires Page 11
